(11-05-2017 07:58 AM)NIUTrekker Wrote: I experienced those terrible years as well which helps me fully appreciate what NIU football has accomplished over the last decade plus. It is also because of those down years that I refuse to accept a return to bad football at NIU. I don't belive we're headed there right now but I do think Carey had to change several things in the off season.
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Agree completely NIUTrekker.
It clearly seems that so many people on this board have incredibly unrealistic expectations regarding Coach Rod Carey and the NIU Football team's performance expectations!
Bad football at NIU in my opinion was Coach Charlie Sadler's five year tenure, which I believe led directly to the collapse of the NIU Football program.
Clearly there are several posters on this board who were either too young to remember, or who choose to forget what Coach Sadler did that led to the collapse of NIU Football.
To understand the fall of NIU's Football program and to possibly in my opinion give a fare benchmark of Coach Rod Carey's tenure, one should at least be aware of his predecessor's record. Jerry Pettibone led the NIU program from 1985 to 1990.
His record at NIU was 33-32-1 (1- being a draw to B1G Northwestern University.)
In 1985 when NIU was in the MAC before we went Independent we were 4-4 Conference and 4-7 overall that year.
NIU then left the MAC and these were his results before this highly acclaimed coach was considered by some to be the fourth best NIU Football coach after #3 Joe Novak interms of wins, before Rod Carey surpassed his 33 wins.
Jerry Pettibone
1986 2-9
1987 5-5-1
1988 7-4
1989 9-2. Considered to have Tied NIU's best record at the time.
1990 6-5 (1991-1996, he was HC of Oregon State in the PAC 10)
1991 Charlie Sadler 2-9
1992 Charlie Sadler 5-6
1993 Charlie Sadler. 4-7
1994 Charle Sadler 4-7
1995 Charlie Sadler 3-8
Then came the three year nightmare in NIU FB which included the 23 game longest losing streak in Div 1a before Coach Novak was able to alledgly rebuild or allegedly build NIU Football into the alleged succesful powerhouse it is today where post Season Bowl invitations seem to have become so common place that some fans literally find them boring and only focus on either their cost to NIU or losing a post season Bowl.
NIU will likely get its nineth post season Bowl invitation within the last ten years.
This is like ,"Christmas to a FB coach and gives him and his team an additional month of practice" according to Coach Joe Novak.
It is true that post season Bowl games are far more common than in 2003
when NIU went 10-2 with a 2-2 record against Top 25 ranked teams and got NO BOWL invitation. Maryland whom NIU beat in the first game had If my memory is correct a 10 win season with a good Bowl invitation and an impressive Bowl victory over a good ranked team.
Toledo who beat NIU that year and smashed Penn State at Penn State also got no Bowl invite.
Miami Ohio 13-1 with was was ranked 15nth got a ****** Bowl invite against an unranked #3 9-5 Conference USA (5-3) team.
It is worth emphasizing that this MIAMI OHIO 2003 team under Big Ben Roethlisberger was or might have been probably the best MAC team ever in the post 2000 year era.
Only loss was to a 10-3 #8Final poll Iowa team.
They had 13 incredible straight victories against allot of good teams and were 8-0 in the MAC when the MAC had 5 ranked teams in the top 25 that year.
They smashed NU 44-14 in a game that I believe was more unevenly matched then the score line showed at Evanston.
NU who were 6-6 (4-4) B1G were rewarded with a 'toilet Bowl' against A ranked Bowling Green team who were 7-1 in the MAC in 2003 and 11-3 overall.
Only losses being an unlucky 17-24 loss to #4 Ohio State University which included a dropped TD from BGSU on the OSU goal line in a game that according to commentators was the closest game Ohio State came to losing to an instate team in well over 50 years. In my opinion they deserved to have won.
Other two losses were 10-33 at MIami Ohio and again 27-49 at BGSU for the MACC.
BGSU victories that year included
#16 Purdue at Purdue.
#12 NIU at BGSU 34-18 (Ending arguably NIU's most recognized 8 game winning streak)
A ranked Toledo who had beaten #9 Ranked power 5 team,
A ranked Marshall who beat #6th ranked Kansas( regarded as the greatest MAC OOC victory that year and maybe ever.)
This was perhaps the height of disrespect the MAC received regarding post season Bowl games and a reason to perhaps cherish every Bowl invitation, not only as an opportunity to improve for the following year with the extra month of practice but as an earned experience for a football team that has won at least 5 or 6 games.
Let us all be grateful as NIU FB fans for the incredible resurrection of NIU FB which stunk and tanked from 1991-1998, and since then has never experienced two losing consecutive seasons from 1999-2017 in 19 years.
If you would have predicted that in 1998, that NIU with the Nations longest losing streak in Div1a College football and had experienced 8 consecutive losing seasons would:
Go 10-2 in 2003, 9-3 (7-1) 2004 with first post season Bowl game, 2005 7-5 (6-2) record first trip to Detroit, heartbreaking last minute loss and NO Post Season Bowl invite, Bowl games in 2006, 2008-2015. Ten post season Bowl games, 7 MAC Championship games!
And added that NIU would Only have three seasons with less than 6 wins. ( 2 with 5 in 1999 and 2016 wins, and a single 2 win injury ridden season in 2007,
Everyone would have laughed!!!!!
How does a team with an 8 season losing streak achieve the status and success of NIU FB despite a very limited FB budget compared to most Div 1a schools?
This is the miraculous modern resurgence of NIU FB.
Enjoy is.
Savour it.
Appreciate it.
